Maxwell Anderson’s
Mary of Scotland

I O Myers Theatre, UNSW and
IPAC Wollongong, May, 2004

Playwright Maxwell Anderson (1888-1959) is best known for his Hollywood screen adaptations of his own plays including Key Largo, What Price Glory, Anne of the Thousand Days, Knickerbocker Holiday and Mary of Scotland. He was the most successful playwright of his time & most of his plays, including Mary of Scotland (1933), What Price Glory and Anne of the Thousand Days (1948) enjoyed long runs on Broadway. Both Your Houses won the Pulitzer Prize and Winterset and Mary of Scotland won coveted Drama League Awards. The majority of his 48 plays are in verse and he aimed to communicate “the highest and most admirable in the human spirit.” In a period when playwrights such as Eugene O’Neill and Clifford Odets were exploring forms to express the aims of realism, Anderson’s traditional approach to form was widely considered an anomaly. His content, however, was progressive and remains relevant.

Historical Note: Like Shakespeare, Anderson takes liberty with historical fact. The play follows the fortunes of Mary, Queen of Scots, from her arrival in Scotland in 1561 to her imprisonment in England awaiting execution in 1584.

1 2 3 4 5